The Wave is K.

Korean pop culture, ranked by the numbers · 한류 랭킹

K-Pop

How to Watch the 2026 K-Pop Award Shows From Abroad

해외에서 2026 K팝 시상식 보는 법

Four of K-pop's big award shows have announced dates for this season: the Melon Music Awards and the MAMA Awards in November, the Asia Artist Awards in December and the Golden Disc Awards in January. Here is when each one happens and where it streams officially outside Korea.

Checked

Still from the official MMA2026 teaser video posted by Melon
Pictured: a still from Melon's official MMA2026 teaser. The Melon Music Awards, on November 14–15, are the first show in the table.
K-pop award shows of the 2026–27 season with officially announced dates, and how to watch them from abroad, as checked on October 11, 2026
Show Dates and start time City Venue Official way to watch abroad Source
Melon Music Awards 2026 (MMA2026)멜론뮤직어워드Sat–Sun, Nov 14–15, 2026. 6 PM KST both nights (09:00 UTC)Seoul, South KoreaGocheok Sky DomeYouTube: the official Melon and 1theK channels (some countries excluded). Japan: U-NEXT. Taiwan: TVBS.Melon
2026 MAMA Awards마마 어워즈Fri–Sat, Nov 20–21, 2026. Start time not announcedOsaka, JapanKyocera Dome OsakaMnet Plus (global live stream)CJ ENM
Asia Artist Awards 2026 (AAA 2026)아시아 아티스트 어워즈Sat–Sun, Dec 5–6, 2026. Show listed for 5 PM Taiwan time, which is 6 PM KST (09:00 UTC)Kaohsiung, TaiwanKaohsiung National StadiumNot announced yetKaohsiung Travel
41st Golden Disc Awards골든 디스크 시상식Sat–Sun, Jan 9–10, 2027. Start time not announcedHanoi, VietnamVietnam Exposition Center (VEC), outdoor stageNot announced yetSports Kyunghyang

Only shows whose organiser has officially announced the 2026–27 date are listed. Dates are the local show dates. KST is Korea Standard Time, UTC+9; South Korea does not use daylight saving time, so a 6 PM KST start is always 09:00 UTC.13 "Official way to watch" is the platform the organiser names; "not announced yet" means no streaming partner had been named when we checked on October 11, 2026. Sources: MMA,12 MAMA,45 AAA89 and the Golden Disc Awards.1011

Not announced yet as of October 11, 2026: the year-end KBS Song Festival, SBS Gayo Daejeon and MBC Gayo Daejejeon, and the 36th Seoul Music Awards (the 35th was held on June 20, 2026).12 We will add them once their broadcasters or organisers confirm dates.

Step by step

Step 1

Pick your show

Each show has a different organiser, and the organiser decides where it streams.

  1. Melon Music Awards (MMA): run by Kakao Entertainment through its music streaming service, Melon. MMA2026 is the first edition held over two days.23
  2. MAMA Awards: run by CJ ENM, the company behind the music channel Mnet. Visa is the 2026 title sponsor.4
  3. Asia Artist Awards (AAA): organised by the business newspaper Money Today and its media brands Star News and MTN. It honours actors as well as singers.8
  4. Golden Disc Awards: presented by JoongAng Group since 2022. The 41st edition is the first held in Vietnam.1011

The biggest prizes at these shows are the daesang (대상, "grand prize"), the top awards of the night. MAMA, for example, gives four.16

Step 2

Convert the start time

Organisers give times in Korea Standard Time (KST), which is UTC+9 all year round.13 MMA2026 starts at 6 PM KST on both nights,1 and AAA 2026 is listed for 5 PM in Taiwan (UTC+8), which is the same moment.9 For those dates, 6 PM KST is:

  1. 09:00 in London (GMT) and 09:00 UTC;
  2. 4:00 AM in New York (EST) and 1:00 AM in Los Angeles (PST), on the same calendar day as in Korea;
  3. 8:00 PM in Sydney (AEDT).

MAMA and the Golden Disc Awards haven't published start times yet. AAA's listing notes that times may change on the day, so check again close to the show.9

Step 3

Set up the official platform

For MMA2026, Melon's official event page says viewers outside Korea can watch on YouTube through the "Melon" or "1theK" channels, with some countries excluded. It also names U-NEXT for Japan and TVBS for Taiwan, while Melon and Wavve carry it in Korea.1 1theK has been the show's YouTube partner since 2011.3 Subscribe to the channels ahead of time so the live stream shows up in your feed.

For the 2026 MAMA Awards, CJ ENM says the show will stream live worldwide on Mnet Plus, its K-pop app and website.45 Install the app or open the site and make an account before the night. Mnet Plus hadn't said whether the 2026 stream is free or paid when we checked.

For AAA 2026 and the Golden Disc Awards, no streaming partner had been named on October 11. We will update this guide when one is.

Step 4

Vote, where fans can

MAMA: the nominees are revealed in a broadcast on October 12, 2026 at 6 PM KST.6 First-round voting for the Fans' Choice category opens on Mnet Plus when that broadcast ends.6 Its nominees were chosen with help from "MAMA Super Fans": fans picked from those who applied on Mnet Plus between August 27 and September 6.7

MMA: Berriz, Kakao Entertainment's fan app, says it will soon run a global fan vote for MMA2026's new Global TOP10 category.14 Dates hadn't been published on Melon's or Berriz's official pages when we checked.

Vote only through the platform the organiser names. Fan accounts often post vote dates before the organiser does, so check them against the official page.

Sources

  1. Melon (Kakao Entertainment), Melon Music Award: MMA2026 info, the official event page (dates, 6 PM start, venue, broadcast partners, overseas YouTube viewing), retrieved 2026-10-11.
  2. Kakao Entertainment Newsroom, Kakao Entertainment to host MMA2026 on Nov. 14-15, June 9, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  3. Wikipedia, Melon Music Awards, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  4. CJ ENM, 2026 MAMA AWARDS to Take Place in Japan From November 20-21, March 31, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  5. Mnet Plus, 2026 MAMA AWARDS, show page, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  6. CJ ENM press release via PR Times, published on Inside Games, 2026 MAMA AWARDS nomination announcement (Japanese), October 8, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-11; and Mnet K-POP on YouTube, [#2026MAMA] NOMINATION TRAILER | 2026.10.12(MON) 6PM(KST) ON-AIR, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  7. Korea JoongAng Daily, MAMA Awards launches Fan Festa, opens Super Fan applications, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  8. Wikipedia, Asia Artist Awards, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  9. Kaohsiung Travel website (Kaohsiung City Government), 2026 Asia Artist Awards in Kaohsiung, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  10. Wikipedia, Golden Disc Awards, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  11. Sports Kyunghyang, Already heating up… 'Golden Disc' to be held in Hanoi on January 9·10, 2027, September 4, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  12. Sports Kyunghyang, 'The 35th Seoul Music Awards' will be held on June 20, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  13. Wikipedia, Time in South Korea, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  14. Sports Kyunghyang, Kakao Entertainment Berriz launches My Cabinet MMA 2026 special items, October 6, 2026, retrieved 2026-10-11.
  15. YouTube, official channel pages and the videos embedded here, each checked through YouTube's oEmbed service on 2026-10-11 (channel names as YouTube returns them).
  16. Wikipedia, MAMA Awards, retrieved 2026-10-11.